Short Stack: Meet me in St. Louis!

I feel that a lacking aspect to the awards circuit experience is the mystery surrounding short films. Where do they come from? Who makes them? How does the academy choose?

In trying to make Oscar ballots around the world more predictable. I’m starting off with a responsible 2011 Short Stack circuit. I will follow every eligible film festival, and try to show their winners in some capacity. Fortunately, the short film year is October 1st – September 31st so we already have a few festivals to look at.

This one has been making the circuit for a while. As the trailer for “The Six Dollar Fifty Man” will tell you, it was in Cannes in 2009, and Sundance in 2010. It should be eligible again because of the St. Louis Film Festival, but it probably won’t make it far if it hasn’t already.

This next one looks undeniably a cut above. Mysteriously titled “The Armoire”, Jamie Travis’ latest short film completes his “Saddest Boy in the World” trilogy. In it, a game of hide-and-seek goes wrong when Tony is never found. This one has also been impossible to see but here is the trailer, and I was so obsessed I even watched a clip. It looks good and well made. It made be a little too light or ultimately underwhelming to make it all the way, but I could see it being shortlisted.

For the last winner, there is a little confusion. The Festival website says “Pixels” by Paul Emile Boucher won. Except that there isn’t a Pixels by him. It’s by someone else named Patrick Jean. Fortunately, it’s online and a heck of a lot of fun. So creative and well done. This is everything Logorama wanted to be and failed to execute 100%.